Cotton harvester



March 31, 1931. V, El HUNTER ET AL l1,798,883

COTTON HARVESTER A #LDT-neg March 3l, 1931. v. E. HUNTER E1' AL 1,798,883

COTTGN HARVESTER Filed Dec. l0, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hin-F1155;

March 31, 1931. Y v. E. HUNTER E'r AL COTTON HARVESTER Filed DeC. lO, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l/V//hazm H Emy/55774 A ffm 7/7/1 EL Patented Mar. 31, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT roaring vIC'roa n. HUNTER, FREDERICK M. ABERNATHY, AND WILLIAMVH. enotsomon ELK CITY, OKLAHOMA t t Common HARVESTER Application led December 10, T927. Serial Na `239,210;

Our invention relates to cotton harvesters.

It has for its purposes to 'make possible the low unit cost of cotton production; to provide a machine adaptable to harvest cotton at greater speed and at less cost than has been heretofore possible; to materially reduce the ratio of picking cost to the selling price; to increase the resulting `profits to the cotton farmer; to minimize the labor involved in cotton harvesting; to increase the efficiency of man power in cotton harvesting; to reduce the cost of cotton `and cotton products; to make possible a lower cost harvester than has heretofore been available; to minimize the 1,; loss and waste of cotton in harvesting; to

provide an improved form of harvesting fingers tapering from the point to the base and arranged in, what I term, a curved profilelso as to force the bolls and cotton back toward 2o the surface of the drum where the space therebetween is not so large, thereby holding the boils and cotton, pulling same from the stalks and carrying them up and around to the conveyor; to provide, through the use of 2e a large drum a slow upward motion oi the harvesting lingers so asto gently approach and handle the cotton, to be harvested; to provide a minimum of Wearing parts; to eliminate all timing and technical adjustno ments; to eliminate catching, pulling and cutting of limbs and stalk of the cotton plant; to insure gathering a greater proportion of `the cottonthan has heretofore beenmachine harvested; to provide a harvester adaptable to gather the cotton from both high and low stalks; and to provide the various other advantages and results made evident in the fol lowing speciiication.

We choose to term our machine a cotton harvester rather than a cotton picker, the distinction being that pickers are supposed to remove the ber and leave the empty burr, while our conception is devised to gather the cotton and the burr together, leaving the seperation thereof to be performed at the gin as is done with hand snapped cotton.

In accomplishing the objects of our invention we mount a carrying frame on three wheels, one of which, located at the eXtreme end of said frame, acts as a guide wheel, and

is controlled by-meansiof ari-connected' steening lever. The ftwo lother'wheels are posi tioned one each sideoft'heyframe,,lorwvard the `center oflthe load. 'YOne otthese-sid'e wheels, preferably the right, 1 is utilizedas Iacbull `or power wheel, andis iittedl with a sprocketV which `with l the chain attached ff'ur-m nishes power for movingthe drum, brush, conveyors and, elevator, hereinafter EreerredV to. rl`he drum, geared"to revolvel .in a direction opposite vto the motion ot the bull `or power Wheel, is 'mounted at the forward endfottheframe. t Thisdrum, largein circumference,may be charly desired Width 'for the purpose'ofcoveringfione lingers `are so spaced onlthefdruin thatbe fore one set have `finished fanothei.- lower setn comesinto operation. The limbs of the stalks slip Ythrouglr'the "lingers they'revolve, the bolls `i'allingback close to the drum, are separated? from the limbs, and" lifted' up ward following thesurflacc of the drumlinits rotary motionfto'a-*poi-nt, where they fallrto the iirstof twofconveyors,positionednearly I horizontally adjacent the rear Yside f' of the drum.` `This first Iconveyor also powered from 'the *bull *wheel carries the cotton to I 'a secondA sloping conveyor which Y is adjustable to the heightfof'the `vehicleinto Whichvlthe cotton is to be loaded; vAbrush'fol longlib'er, extends the width of the drum over the-fendi ofthe horizontal conveyor a-ndfisl geared' to the bul-l`w`lieel `so` as to separate* in ai direction oppositefth-at of' the dru-m a'ndf at a greater"` speed. 4The liber". of lthis brush reaches into the fingers onfth-edrum andremcves! the cotton-tl`1ereiromasthey pass.

The "harvesteris {powered by Vhorses -or tractor supplied in 1 t e rear-oflvthe harvestice ing drum, thus avoiding injury to the cotton in the harvesting line.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the various views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of our machine. Figure 2 isa top view looking down onto the machine. Figure 3 shows a detail side view of thegathering fingers positioned on the drum hereinafter referred to; and Fig- 'drivers platform 6. 7 shows the seat post.

8 shows the operators seat. 9 shows the rear or steering wheel, mounted on the forks 10. 11 shows the steering lever. 12 shows the harvesting drum lever` connected with the drum 13 by the rod 14 and by means of which the drum 13 is raised or lowered at.

the willA of the operator. 15 shows the forward wheels on which our machine is mounted, the rig it one of which is fittedV at its hub with the sprocket 16 on which is mounted the chain 17 operating the sprockets 18, 19

and 20, the last of which is secured to the first of and operates the spin gears 21 and 22, the latter being secured to the drum 13. 23 shows a pulley to which is vsecured the sprocket 19, and which is connected by a belt to the pulley 25, the latter being mounted on the support 26 and adaptable to revolve the brush 2.7 as the power is applied to the machine. The conveyor belt 23 is mounted on the sprockets 18 and 29. The shaft 30 is geared at its forward end to the shaft 31 on which is mounted the sprocket 18) and through the universal joint 32v transmits its revolving motion to the roller 33. The elevator belt 34: is mounted on the rollers 33 and 35 supported by the frame 35 and is adaptable to receive and convey the cotton-to accompanying wagons as harvested. Aroundv the circumference of the drum 13 are positioned in angularrows various series of gathering fingers 37, thev outer lingers being slightly forward of the inner ones, as shown inFigure il. v

In operation as the machine goes forward the wheel 15 rotates, transmitting power and movement to the chain 17, in turn rotating.

the gears 18-19-20-22 kand 29, the drum 13, the brush 2'? and the elevator belt 34. As the harvester is directed against, moves forward and contacts with, cotton plants the ff fingers 37 gatherthe bolls, cotton and burrs which are carried by the rotary motion of the drum 13 upward and around to the brush 27, which travelling at a speed greater than the drum, dislodges the bells, cotton and burrs causing them to drop to and be carried along by the conveyor belt 28 to the elevator belt on which the bolls are in turn carried to the vehicle it is 'desired to load.

lVhile we have illustrated and described a preferred construction for carryingour invention into e'ect, this is capable of variation or ymodification without departing from the 'spirit of the invention. INe therefore do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein set forth but desire to avail .ourselves of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described our invention we claim as newI desire to secure by Letters Patent the United States of America A cotton Vharvester comprising a main frame, asupporting wheel carried by said main frame, an extension frame pivoted to said main frame for vertical swinging adjustment, a rotatabletoothed cotton gatherg member carried by said extension frame, a sprocket wheel fixed with respect to said supporting wheel, afgear wheel fixed with respect to said gathering member, a sprocket wheel andra gear wheel fixed with respect to one anotner and carried bysaid extension frame, a chain connecting` said vsprocket wheels, said gear wheels being in intermeshed relation, a'rotary brush carried` by said eX-'k tension frame for cleaning said gathering member, av drive connection `between said chainfand said brush, an endless conveyor extending from a point beneath said brush to a point overlying the main frame, said conveyor being inclusive of a drive shaft and a sprocket wheel fixed thereto and indirect en- 

